Hello everyone,

As I closed out my 3rd week in Israel and returned home, I feel a weight I did not expect. When I put my gun back on for the first time in three weeks, it carried more meaning than it ever has before. I have caught murderers and saved lives, but this time felt different, heavier, and more real. It was the larger realization of the finality and responsibility that comes with protecting life and sometime taking one.

Driving my truck for the first time since leaving on October 3rd, my mind flashed to Oz and what a simple drive meant for him, a man who used his own truck to save 120 others. That reflection reminded me how every choice, every second, and every action can determine life or death. Coming home feels heavier, but that weight carries refreshed purpose.

This final week in Israel has been one of unsung heroes, men and women who stepped forward when no one else could or would. It has also reminded me of the importance of proactive awareness, preparation, and training. In Israel, we saw what happens when help could not come in time. During the Security and Law Enforcement Mission, we learned that in many communities, military and law enforcement did not arrive for days after the attacks. Ordinary people were left to protect their families, their neighbors, and their towns.

That lesson echoes across America, though many refuse to see it. Too often we dismiss the need for preparedness, calling it fearmongering or paranoia. But being trained and capable to stop a threat is not fear based. It is necessary. It is fundamental to saving lives and preventing violence before it begins.

These experiences have been some of the most emotional and powerful of my life. They have reshaped my understanding of courage, sacrifice, and leadership. This week has been about people who acted when others could not, who made split-second choices that saved lives, and who reminded me what it truly means to live with conviction and faith.

The Power of One: Oz Davidian

A few days ago, I had the honor of meeting Oz Davidian, a shepherd and ordinary citizen who became a hero on October 7th, 2023. When terrorists attacked the Nova Music Festival, hundreds of innocent people—many the same age as our own college-aged children—were trapped and hunted.

For more than ten hours, with no help from police or military, Oz made trip after trip back into gunfire using his own truck. He rescued 120 young men and women. He did this alone, under fire, facing terrorists armed with machine guns and RPGs. His truck was riddled with bullets. He kept driving anyway.

Oz is a reminder that true heroism does not require a uniform. It requires courage, love, and faith strong enough to overcome fear. His actions saved not only 120 people but generations that will come from those lives.

The Talmud says, “Whoever saves one life, it is as if he saved an entire world.” Oz saved 120 worlds.

Kerem Shalom and the Cost of Readiness

We also visited the Kerem Shalom Kibbutz, a town near the Gaza border that came under direct attack on October 7th. There, I met Eliya Ben Shimol, a local security leader who helped defend his community. He and his small team held their ground against armed terrorists for over a day, protecting their families, neighbors, and children.

Two of his team members were killed in the process. Their bravery saved the lives of dozens. Eliya’s story is one of courage, heartbreak, and leadership. It was a humbling reminder that when evil strikes, it is prepared people who make the difference those who have trained, equipped, and made peace with the responsibility of protecting others.



We later attended the funeral of Tal Haimi, one of the soldiers who had fought served Eliya. His body was held for more than two years before being returned. The pain and unity among the people gathered there was unlike anything I have ever witnessed.

The Innovators Who Refused to Wait

This week also brought us face to face with extraordinary innovators who refused to wait for help that was never coming. I met with ESP710, a team of Israeli civilians who, during the height of the Gaza conflict, built their own drone defense systems from scraps, parts, and 3D printers.

When the air force was unavailable and ammunition was short, these volunteers turned garages and abandoned homes into makeshift laboratories. Their drones went on to carry out more than 127 missions, eliminating 70 terrorist targets.

At first, military officials laughed at them. But their work saved countless lives. Every drone, every wire, every screw was built by people who refused to give up by civilians who saw a need and acted.

They even trained ordinary citizens, like a kindergarten teacher, to fly drones using a phone and goggles. These people now serve as watchful eyes, ready to protect their communities in moments of crisis.

Their innovation was born not from privilege or funding but from necessity and heart. It was a living example of what happens when people stop waiting for someone else to fix the problem and choose to take action themselves.

The Builders, The Connectors, and The Leaders

Among the many heroes I met, one more deserves special recognition: Jeff Aeder.

Jeff is the man behind the Security and Law Enforcement Mission that I have been a part of this past week. Quietly and without recognition, he has been rebuilding lives and communities across Israel.

Jeff has personally funded the construction of more than ten homes for displaced families in devastated areas. He saw what Oz had endured and stepped in to help him rebuild. He has created programs to reconnect isolated communities, bring security awareness back to the forefront, and strengthen the Jewish people through action.

He is not just rebuilding homes—he is rebuilding hope.



Jeff is also bringing this mindset home, helping his own community in the United States understand what real, proactive security looks like. His example reminds me that leadership is not about fame or credit. It is about service, sacrifice, and doing what is right when no one else will.

The Lesson: Be Your Own Hero

Everywhere I have gone in Israel, I have seen one consistent truth: the people do not wait to be saved. They act. They prepare. They protect one another.

In America, we have forgotten this lesson. We have become reactive instead of proactive, waiting for someone else to fix what is broken or stop what is dangerous. But as Israel has shown, help that arrives minutes or hours too late is not help it is aftermath.

The ordinary citizen, the parent, the teacher, the business owner these are the unsung heroes who save lives. They are the ones who choose courage over comfort, who act in the moment instead of watching it unfold.

We must learn from them.

We must decide that our safety, our families, and our communities are worth defending.

We cannot wait for tragedy to awaken us.

We must prepare now, train now, protect now.

Moving Forward

Three weeks in Israel have changed me as a man, a leader, and a protector.

I have walked among heroes. I have stood where terror once struck. I have met people who remind the world that faith, courage, and readiness can overcome evil.

To my friends, colleagues, and supporters:

I thank you for standing beside me on this mission.

Your support has made it possible to learn these lessons firsthand, and to bring them home to help strengthen our communities.

Now, it is time for us to act. Not when the loss happens.

The threat is real, and it is here.

But so is the solution, and it starts with us.

We can build safer communities.

We can protect the innocent.

We can choose to become the heroes our world needs.

The time is now.

It will take all of us to make our world safer. Together, let us rise to the calling and fulfill our duty to protect our communities.